The Minnesota Wild had their best-ever regular season with 113 points on 53 wins in 2021-22. It wasn't enough as they lost in the first round for the sixth time in the last six times they've been in the playoffs.

GM and Coach

Bill Guerin was named GM of the Wild in August of 2019 just before the beginning of the 2019-20 season. The team has three straight defeats in the first round under him. He bought out the contracts of Ryan Suter and Zach Parise in July 2021.

Dean Evason was named Interim Head Coach in February of 2020 (took over from Bruce Boudreau) and then Head Coach in July of 2020 after the 2019-20 season. His record in 150 regular-season games is 96-42-12 good for a 0.680 winning percentage (leads active coaches).

Salary Cap

The Wild have just over $6.58 million in cap space available to them for the 2022-23 season.

The team has dead cap space of $12.74 million next year and $14.74 million in each of the two seasons after that for buying out Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. The final three seasons are at $1.67 million per year.

Just on the dead cap space alone, puts the Wild at a tremendous disadvantage to fill out their roster each season for the next five or six years and keep their young good players under contract. Guerin inherited the contracts from Chuck Fletcher who signed both Suter and Parise to 13-year contracts for a total of $98 million ($7.538 million AAV) in July of 2012. The eight-year contract limit protects GMs from themselves.

Draft Picks

For the 2022 entry draft, the Wild traded away their 2nd round and 7th round picks but were awarded a compensatory 2nd round pick for not signing their 2018 1st round pick Filip Johansson. They also have Vancouver's 2nd round pick for a total of seven picks. The compensatory pick in the 2nd round slots in at the 56th pick overall.

They have all of their picks in 2023 and 2024 except for their 3rd round pick in 2023 which was used to acquire Nicolas Deslauriers.

Overall the team has 20 of the original 21 picks over the next three drafts.

Free Agents

Unrestricted free agents are Nick Bjugstad (29), Nicolas Deslauriers (31), Jordie Benn (34), Marc-Andre Fleury (37), Kyle Rau (29) and Jon Lizotte (27).

I think the Wild have the depth to replace Bjugstad, Deslauriers and Benn from within. They might miss the physical presence of all three players, but I don't think the likes of Rossi, Beckman, Dewar or Addison will be a downgrade.

If they can bring back Fleury at under $3 million for one or two years perhaps they do, but the team will need to make some sort of salary move to bring back Fiala.

Restricted free agents are Kevin Fiala (25), Jacob Middleton (26), Mitchell Chaffee (24), Nick Swaney (24) and Dereck Baribeau (23).

Every RFA is eligible for arbitration except for Baribeau.

Fiala had a career year in 2021-22 with 33 goals and 52 assists in 82 games. He is going to command between $5.5 and 6.5 million AAV over six or seven seasons. I think it is more likely they move Dumba with one year remaining at $6 million than not re-sign Fiala.

Middleton is coming off of a two-year, two-way deal so might come in around $1 to 1.5 million AAV on a two or three-year one-way deal.

The other three players are two-way deals if they re-sign.

The Wild will need to make room for new contracts after 2022-23 for Matthew Boldy, Tyson Jost, Brandon Duhaime and Calen Addison. Boldy's contract could be large, depending on how he does this year.

Roster

The current roster for Minnesota is at a 6.51 rating which puts them easily back into the playoffs next season. Losing any one of Fiala, Dumba or Fleury will hurt the roster but they do have some highly touted players that should be ready this season as well. At the end of the day, they are still one of the better-constructed rosters in the NHL if healthy.

Thinking back to last summer, when there were rumours that the negotiations with Kirill Kaprizov (25) weren't going well. What a difference a year makes as he ended up signing for five years at $9 million AAV and had an incredible season with 47 goals and 61 assists in 81 games. What a bargain.

Ryan Hartman (27) and Mats Zuccarello (34) are decent players on their own and had excellent seasons in 2021-22, but there is little dispute that Kaprizov helps their production. If Hartman can get 25 goals and 50 points while Zuccarello stays healthy and plays 70 games with 60 or more points, the Wild will be ahead of the game. Seasons, like they had last season, are not likely next year.

After the first line, Minnesota has envious depth with Fiala (25), Boldy (21), Greenway (25) and Marcus Foligno (30) on the wings in the top nine. At center, behind Hartman are Eriksson Ek (25) and Frederick Gaudreau (29) with Marco Rossi (20), hoping to find a spot next season at either center or wing.

 One thing that the Wild will need to improve upon is faceoffs (47.6 percent and 28th in the NHL). They are terrible and with Bjugstad (55.3) perhaps not re-signing, this would leave Hartman (44.8), Eriksson Ek (47.6), Gaudreau (50.1) and Jost (40.4) as their primary faceoff takers.

Fiala in Minnesota is a notoriously slow starter, but there is no reason he can't put together three or four more seasons like he had last year in his career.

Boldy will get a full season this year after playing in 47 games last year where he had 15 goals and 24 assists which were on pace for 26 goals and 42 assists over 82 games. If he can reach 20 goals and 50 points, it will be a solid second year for him. He is a point-per-game player in the making.

Greenway is a huge presence on the ice with his size and skating ability. He teased us a little with his point production in 2020-21 at 0.57 pts/game but came down closer to his career average with 0.44/g last year. He has still only played 272 NHL games and is very capable of having a breakout in the next season or two where he puts up 15-20 goals and 45-50 points over 82 games.

Eriksson Ek had a bit of a breakout season last year with 26 goals and 24 assists in 77 games. He had 12 PPGs which helped his cause, but it is easy to forget that he had 19 goals in 56 games the year before with no PPGs. I think he is capable of a 30-goal season this year as his shot rate increased from 2.1 to 2.9 per game. He has seven years remaining on his $5.25 million AAV contract.

Marcus Foligno does everything for this team as he kills penalties, plays on the power play, hits (238), scores goals (23) and is the team's alternate captain. Over the last two seasons, he has had 34 goals in 113 games on 138 shots on goal for a shooting percentage of 24.6. His career average is 13.7. Expect some regression next season in that department.

Something clicked in Frederick Gaudreau's NHL game at the end of the 2020-21 season when he was called up to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He played in 19 games and had two goals and eight assists, which was enough for Minnesota to sign him as a UFA that summer. Before that he had played 84 NHL games with Nashville over three seasons and had three goals and five assists. This past season he played 76 games and had 14 goals and 30 assists, with a second-half that saw him with 12 goals and 20 assists in 44 games. At 29 years of age, he is still a bit of a liability defensively but he has the potential for 50-55 points in this league.

The Wild's fourth line will more than likely consist of any of Connor Dewar (22), Tyson Jost (24), Brandon Duhaime (25), Mason Shaw (24) and Adam Beckman (21).

I think that Jost is miscast as a bottom-six forward, but he hasn't shown enough offence after 342 NHL games to warrant a top-six role. He can slide up the lineup when needed but he might just be stuck with a ceiling of 15 goals and 30 points on Minnesota. He'd be better off on a team like Arizona or Seattle as to be fair he's been on two very deep teams in Colorado and Minnesota so far.

Duhaime had a decent rookie season with six goals and 17 points, along with 201 hits. His ceiling is probably not much more than that but he might be relied on for a physical presence without Deslauriers.

Dewar just re-signed for two more years on a one-way contract with an $800k AAV. He's a smallish energy guy that has a bit of offensive upside after playing 35 games last season with two goals and four assists.

Mason Shaw had a good season with Iowa in the AHL where he put up 19 goals and 33 assists in 62 games, which earned him three games with the Wild. He would have to outplay Dewar and Duhaime to win a spot but should be an injury replacement if needed.

Beckman had 11 goals and 23 assists in 68 games in the AHL and one point in three games with Minnesota. He will probably need another full season with Iowa.

As for Marco Rossi, it will be a good problem for the team if they need to find space for him on the roster as that will mean he is ready. The Wild were patient and sent him to Iowa last year where he had a pretty good pro rookie season with 18 goals and 35 assists in 63 games. Rossi will be a very good player, but will the Wild move Fiala to make room or start Rossi out on the 4th line and let him dictate his way up the lineup?

On defence, the Wild are led by their captain Jared Spurgeon (32) who is signed for five more seasons at $7.575 million AAV. The 12-year veteran has carved out quite a career so far in Minnesota in 773 games with 99 goals and 247 assists. Last season saw him post 10 goals and 31 assists in 65 games. Injuries are becoming a concern as he has only played more than 65 games once in the past five seasons. Book him for 65-70 games and go from there.

Matt Dumba (27) is next on the depth chart as he enters the last year of his $6 million AAV contract. He has been rumored on the trade front for a few years now and might be the solution for the Wild, to create some space for Fiala this season and Boldy next year. They would miss him, as he provides offence (57-7-20-27), hits (114) and blocks shots (84). He does have some issues defensively, so he can come under criticism now and again. He has injury concerns as he missed 50 games in 2018-19 and 25 last year.

Jonas Brodin (28) is signed for six more seasons at $6 million AAV. He had his career-high last season (his 10th) in points with 30 in 73 games, so his offense is not his calling card, although he can chip in now and again. He has averaged between 0.41 and 0.43 pts/game over the past three seasons. He shines away from the puck, although not a physical player, he blocks shots (126) and kills penalties. His contract might become an issue in two or three years, if not sooner as it is very expensive for a 3rd or 4th defenceman.

Jacob Middleton (26) was a rookie last season with San Jose and Minnesota and posted four goals, 10 assists, 118 hits and 124 blocked shots in 66 games. He had played 228 AHL games over five years before 2021-22 and battled to stick in the NHL. He is a restricted free agent and will be looking for a one-way deal next season from Minnesota. He can't afford any regression in his game next year, or he will find himself back in the AHL.

Minnesota has Jon Merrill (30), Alex Goligoski (36) and Dmitri Kulikov (31) all experienced players that are signed for next season. Goligoski has the most value in my opinion, as he can slide up the lineup if needed and provides more offense than Merrill or Kulikov. Goligoski is signed for two years at $2 million AAV and is very solid depth.

Bill Guerin must have liked Merrill a lot as he gave him a three-year extension starting next season at $1.2 million AAV. In nine NHL seasons, his 69 games last year were career-high along with his 20 points. Merrill has been a sixth or seventh defenseman most of his career and has carved out 474 NHL games so far.

Kulikov is entering the last year of his contract with Minnesota at $2.25 million and is coming off of perhaps his best statistical year in his 12 seasons in the NHL. He had seven goals and 15 assists, was a plus 23 and had 100 hits and 103 blocks in 80 games.

Roy averaged 20:59 per game last season with Doughty missing 42 games, but he might see his time come back down to around 18-19 minutes. He had two goals and 19 assists in 67 games and managed 124 hits and 103 blocked shots.

Herein lies another strength for Minnesota as they are very deep down to the seventh defender on the roster, with young players like Dakota Mermis (28) and Calen Addison (22) providing an added layer of depth. Addison played 15 games for the Wild last season but was a little over his head while averaging just over 13 minutes per game. He has 77 games in the AHL over the past three seasons and has 13 goals and 45 points. He's ready for the NHL offensively but just needs to round out his game this year or next, to become a full-time NHL defender. He is also waivers exempt.

Simon Johansson (23) signed a two-year, two-way contract in April 2022 and could be heading to North America from Sweden next year. He played 58 games last season in Liiga and had eight goals and 24 assists in the regular season and a goal and six assists in 10 games in the playoffs.

Cam Talbot (34) is the only goalie on the roster with NHL experience and he is entering the last year of his contract at $3.667 million AAV. The Wild might be looking to get an experienced goalie outside of the organization as Marc-Andre Fleury is a UFA and Jesper Wallstedt (19) is a few years away from making an impact in the NHL.

Talbot played 49 games which was the most he had played in an NHL season since he played 66 in 2017-18. His record was 32-12-7 with a GAA of 2.76 and a save percentage of 91.1. His GSAA was right on the average at minus 0.01.

Goaltending is potentially the Achilles heel for the Wild next season and until Wallstedt establishes himself as an NHL starter it might continue to be.

Much like the current edition of the Colorado Avalanche, the Wild only need average goaltending to succeed during the regular season. If they can upgrade in net and maintain their current roster while staying healthy, this team can make some noise in the next one or two seasons during the playoffs. They should be a 50-win team during the 2022-23 season once again.

Thanks for reading, and let me know if you want me to focus on any players or topics by messaging me below or following me on Twitter @gampbler15.